1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to laundry aids and, more particularly, to clothes sticks especially adapted for manipulating laundry in a laundry tub.
2. Description of the Prior Art
When clothes are in a laundry tub, immersed in water, it is often necessary or desirable to manipulate the wet clothes in the tub. To do so, one would generally immerse one's hand and arm into the tub. However, for a number of reasons, one may wish to avoid immersing one's hand and arm into the water in the tub. The water may be very hot or very cold. The water may be very dirty or very soapy. To avoid the need for immersing one's hand and arm into the water in a laundry tub, a number of innovations have been developed throughout the years relating to hand-held clothes sticks, and the following U.S. patents are representative of some of those innovations: U.S. Pat. Nos. 728,938, 927,546, 990,908, 2,011,896, and 2,576,242. More specifically, U.S. Pat. Nos. 728,938 and 927,546 disclose clothes sticks which have a handle and two prongs. To provide greater ability to twist, untwist, lift, and move clothes in a laundry tub, it would be desirable if a clothes stick were provided which included three or more prongs.
U.S. Pat. No. 990,908 discloses a clothes stick in which the handle is received inside a triangular reception region defined by three prongs. As a result, when the clothes stick is placed against a flat surface, the handle portion of the clothes stick cannot lie flat against the flat surface. For a reason stated below, it would be desirable if a clothes stick were provided in which a three or more pronged clothes stick has a handle that can lie flat against a flat surface.
Each of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,011,896 and 2,576,242 discloses a clothes stick having three or more prongs. It is noted, however, that with these two patents, as well as with the other three patents discussed above, none of the patents discloses a clothes stick which has means for attaching to a laundry machine when the clothes stick is not in use. More specifically, since a clothes stick is an apparatus which is independent from a laundry machine, it is all to easy to misplace or lose a clothes stick. In this respect, it would be desirable if a clothes stick were provided that has means for attaching to a laundry machine when not in use so that there would be less chance for the clothes stick to be misplaced or lost.
Still other features would be desirable in a clothes stick apparatus. As stated above, it would be desirable if means were provided for attaching a clothes stick to a laundry machine when the clothes stick is not in use. It is noted that most laundry machines are made of iron-containing metal, and, in this respect, most laundry machines can be adhered to by magnets. With this mind, it would be desirable if a clothes stick were provided which included a magnet or other fastener for conveniently attaching the clothes stick to a laundry machine when the clothes stick is not in use.
Another feature of all of the clothes sticks disclosed above is noted. All of these clothes sticks have handles which include hand-grasping portions which extend longitudinally from the respective prongs. To increase comfort in grasping the handle of a clothes stick and to increase control in using the clothes stick to manipulate wet clothes in a laundry machine, it would be desirable if a clothes stick were provided with a hand-grasping portion which extends transversely with respect to a longitudinal handle portion between the hand-grasping portion and the prongs.
Thus, while the foregoing body of prior art indicates it to be well known to use clothes sticks, the prior art described above does not teach or suggest a clothes stick apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) includes three or more prongs; (2) has a handle that can lie on a flat surface; (3) has means for attaching the clothes stick to a laundry machine or other convenient location when not in use; (4) includes a magnet or other fastener for attaching the clothes stick to a laundry machine when the clothes stick is not in use; and (5) has a hand-grasping portion which extends transversely with respect to a longitudinal handle portion between a hand-grasping portion and the prongs. The foregoing desired characteristics are provided by the unique clothes stick apparatus of the present invention as will be made apparent from the following description thereof. Other advantages of the present invention over the prior art also will be rendered evident.